Influenza

Seasonal influenza vaccines are typically less than 50 percent effective, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studies. Research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, published this week in Nature Immunology, may point a path to more effective vaccines.

A new study appearing in the journal Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses found that adults who are underweight or morbidly obese have an elevated risk of being hospitalized with influenza-like illness due to the flu virus or other respiratory viruses.

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) issued an urgent Call to Action about the dangers of influenza infection among adults with chronic health conditions including heart disease, lung disease and diabetes, and stressed the need for improved adult flu vaccination rates.

Influenza is a highly contagious respiratory disease of global importance, which causes millions of infections annually with the ever-present risk of a serious outbreak. Passive vaccination is the only method available for partial control of the virus.